You know, they say that the sun or a star will expand to its maximum size and destroy everything around it right before it collapses.
They say a beast is most dangerous when it is cornered too.
I suppose that Pas is also seeming to be to restlessly agitating over everything from Christmas celebrations to saving Najib to rallying against Hannah Yeoh, is a sign that PN feels cornered, and it believes that it is a matter of time before it collapses.
Pas’s agitation might just be its way of coping with the inevitability.
It is akin to a person beating their chest or lashing out at the doctor at the knowledge that their kin has passed away. It is a coping method. Sometimes you need to need to lash out before you come to terms with reality.
Other than coping with an inevitability, Pas’s agitation might also be a last ditch effort to keep the opposition front intact.
At the advance stage of deterioration that PN is in, Pas must be hoping against hope that if it could only upset the equilibrium once more, if it could simply change the heart and mind of just enough people, by railing against DAP Ministers or show of solidarity with Najib, it could generate a sufficient amount of momentum that will keep PN relevant until the next election, but it is too bad that Pas never gambled – if it did, it would know that when you are down to your last ringgit, the right thing to do is call it quits, not make an exorbitant last bet, in the hopes that if you win in your last bet, you will be able to prevent yourself from suffering a loss, and perhaps even register a win.
Thinking like that is how you end up wallowing in debts.
The cold hard truth is that Pas solidarity for Najib cannot go far, even if it able to gain the publics attention and interest, simply because Najib’s case is too weak. Najib is not in jail because he fought against powerful people for the sake of the people or what is right. He is facing trials because he took a truck load of money from people he didn’t even know for years without even once bothering to ask them why they sending him so much money. As likeable as Najib might be, nobody, not even the members of Pas, thinks that Najib being in jail is the result of an injustice.
As for the cases against the Dap ministers, they are not significant enough to generate the sort of outrage necessary to give the sort of momentum that Pas can use to save the opposition front.
That Hannah Yeoh is a “threatening the harmony of Muslims” is an allegation that stretches one’s imagination too much to be convincing, because Hannah Yeoh doesn’t look like a person that can threaten a kitten, what more millions of Muslims who form the majority in the country.
Nga Kor Ming has the bearing of someone that is threatening, but the case against him is so petty, that even the police are scratching their head about what to do with the police reports that Pas has lodged against him.
Pas had lodged 69 police reports against Nga Kor Ming, because he organised a Christmas celebration in the government office where he is a minister. The accusation is so petty however, that even the police who took Nga’s statement on account of the Pas’s report, were unable to specify the laws under which their investigation was being conducted.
The truth of the matter is that fighting has to do with brains as much as it has to do with the heart and the muscles.
Pas’s problem is that though it has the passion and determination to fight against the Madani government, it doesn’t have a cause.
The only cause that Pas has in fighting against the Madani movement, is an allegation that the Madani movement might pose a threat to Islam, but as long as Anwar Ibrahim is at the helm, Pas will not be able to use that doubt to create a cause that will be worthy enough for its members or Malaysians at large to fight for.
Anwar is clearly in charge of the Madani government and Anwar’s Islamic credentials is above average. He probably can quote from the scriptures on the top of his head and he has friends, who are acclaimed as Islamic scholars, and who will bear witness to his Islamic credentials.
If Pas tries too hard to question Anwar’s control of the Madani government or his Islamic credentials, it is not Anwar that will look bad, but Pas. Pas will look bad, because its overzealousness in undermining Anwar will be seen as the result of its desire to gain power for itself, rather than because Anwar is in reality, as bad for Islam as Pas is making it out to be.
When the chips are down, it can mean two things. It can mean that it is time for one to dig in and push harder or understand that it is time to throw in the towel and organise a retreat.
Wisdom lies in knowing when to do what.
If Pas thinks that this is moment for it to dig in show its mettle, I personally do not think it is wise at all.
I think Pas had a plan, it tried its best to play it, but it has been outmanoeuvred by the Madani government and defeated by internal problems, and so it is probably best that it retreats until it can develop another plan to take on the Madani government.
The “Islam is under threat” plan was not a bad plan, and the green wave it generated had the potential of taking down the Madani government for almost two years, but you got to hand it to Anwar and the Madani government – they resisted Pas’s manoeuvre successfully and their own manoeuvres managed to pull the carpet under Pas’s feet.
Now, rather than persist via a pie in the sky idea like standing in solidarity for Najib or going after Dap ministers for Christmas celebration, perhaps the best thing for Pas to do, is just admit that it lost this round, go back to the drawing board and come back with an idea or a plan that might work against the Madani government in the next round.
TheRealNehruism is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.